In response to the joint concerns of the California Faculty
Association (the CSU faculty's union) and the Council of UC
Faculty Associations (of which the Davis Faculty Association is a
member), Assemblymember Gloria Romero has introduced AB 1773,
which deals with the intellectual property rights of faculty
members with respect to classroom presentations in California's
three public, post-secondary educational systems. (Dr. Romero,
the Assembly Whip, is a former Professor of Psychology at CSU Los
Angeles.)
Under existing law this bill would apply to the University of
California only if the Regents, by appropriate resolution, make
its provisions applicable.
The bulk of The Legislative Counsel's Digest of AB 1773 reads as
follows:
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1773, as introduced, Romero. Intellectual property: ownership.
Existing case law provides that in the absence of evidence of
agreement to the contrary, a teacher, rather than the institution
for which he or she teaches, owns the common law copyright to his
or her lectures.
This bill would provide that a faculty member of the California
Community Colleges, the California State University, or the
University of California has an exclusive ownership in any
presentation, as defined, in a classroom, laboratory, library,
studio, or any other place of instruction, performance, or
exhibition, notwithstanding any law or provision of contract to
the contrary.
The bill would prohibit any person from recording or making any
use of a presentation or transfer the record of the presentation
to a third person without the prior written permission of the
faculty member. (N.B.: At the request of the UC Faculty
Associations, an amendment is being prepared that will allow
students who are formally enrolled in a class to take and share
such course notes with their classmates.)
The bill would permit any court of competent jurisdiction to
grant such relief as is necessary to enforce its provisions,
including the issuance of an injunction and the recovery, from a
nonstudent, of a civil penalty, as specified.
The bill would require the Regents of the University of
California, the Trustees of the California State University, and
the governing board of every community college district to adopt
or provide for the adoption of specific regulations governing a
violation of these provisions by students, along with applicable
penalties for a violation of the regulations, and to also adopt
procedures to inform all students of those regulations.
Home | Current Activities | Newsletters | Join
| Contact | Links
All contents copyright 2000 The Davis Faculty
Association.